


Maybe This Christmas

by Parrannnah



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Cunnilingus, F/M, London at christmas, Love Story, POV Steve Rogers, Peggy Carter Lives, Post-Serum Steve Rogers, Tony Stark Is a Good Bro, Vaginal Fingering, Vaginal Sex, a year in the life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-25
Packaged: 2019-09-27 07:12:36
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17157587
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Parrannnah/pseuds/Parrannnah
Summary: The year in which Steve Rogers and Peggy Carter fall in love.





	Maybe This Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> A gift for Wolviecat on Tumblr as part of the Steggy Secret Santa!
> 
> As always, huge thanks go out to the most wonderful Beta to ever Beta, the inimitable [Bear_shark](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bear_shark/pseuds/Bear_shark).
> 
> [](https://www.flickr.com/photos/160931217@N08/46410247222/in/dateposted-public/)

_Maybe this Christmas will mean something more_

_Maybe this year_

_Love will appear_

_Deeper than ever before._

**-Maybe This Christmas** , Ron Sexsmith

 

_January_

The phone is already ringing when Steve gets into the office, and he groans as he drops his bag, coat, and lunch on the small couch against the wall, two long strides taking him to his desk, and the phone.

“Rogers,” he answers, cradling the handset between his ear and shoulder as he walks back to deal with his things properly.

“Steve! Steve-o! El Capitan!”

Steve rolls his eyes as he hangs up his coat. “Hi, Tony. Please stop calling me Captain. I’m not in the Army anymore.”

Tony makes a sound like air escaping a balloon, and Steve imagines him waving his hands around. “Irrelevant. You’ll always be captain of my heart. And also hopefully my Design and Marketing department, since I can't convince you to be More In Charge and take the Chief Marketing Officer position. Which reminds me!” Steve winces as he hears Tony bang into something, which means that he’s likely in the lab and rolling around on a stool at high speeds. “How do you feel about London?”

“Like, as a concept? Seems pretty great. I think the way it’s laid out is for shit, but I’m not a city planner. Oh, and I’ve never been, so this is all theoretical.” Steve walks back to his desk and settles in, jiggling his mouse to wake up his computer and get his day started.

“Christ, Rogers, how can anyone think you’re anything less than a sarcastic little shit? Do they not know you?”

Steve laughs and starts in on answering the emails he’d gotten after he went home yesterday, mostly from their West Coast offices.

“They’re blinded by my good looks and charm, clearly.”

Tony snorts, doing something else to make a loud _clang!_ in the background. “That never works for me!”

“You’re doing it wrong then. Anyway,” Steve has to get them back on track or he’ll never figure out what Tony has called about. “What about London?”

“Yes! London! What would you say to going over for a while? Say, six months? At least?”

Steve chokes on the sip of coffee from the mug his executive assistant, Wade, had just handed him. Wade clucks at him and takes the mug from Steve’s hand before he whips out a handkerchief from...somewhere and starts briskly wiping Steve and his desk down. Steve has just started to look despairingly at his now-stained shirt when Wade is suddenly handing him a new one, fresh-pressed and still on the hanger.

Steve mouths a very sincere “Thank You” to Wade, who is a little eccentric but also ruthlessly efficient and the only reason that Steve is kept on track for just about anything some days. He’s worth his weight in gold. “Six months? Tony, that’s a long time!” Steve sets the phone on his desk and turns it on speaker so he can change (Wade appearing just as he got out of his dirty shirt and whisking it away) and resume the conversation. “Why do you need me to go to London?”

“We’re opening an official London Headquarters. I’d like you to help them get through the early days, help their team get settled in.”

Steve starts trying to figure out whether he had any actual objections to this. He doesn’t have pets or plants, so that wouldn’t be a problem, and he already has someone coming in to clean once a week. “I guess I could sublet my place…”

“Psssssh. Sublet. I’m not gonna send you to London for six months and then make you pay rent on two places, Steve. We have some Executive Apartments in every city we have offices in, and London will be no different. I’ll send the list over and you can pick one out. Hell, I’ll even make this one yours and yours alone, because I imagine we’ll be working extremely closely with them for the first few years as they all get settled in. We’ll furnish it, and provide one of the company cars for you for whenever you’re there. C’mon, Steve,” Tony wheedles. “Help me out.”

Steve takes a second to appreciate the fact that his boss is genuinely asking if he wants to do this, instead of just telling him to pack his bags, along with all the incentives Tony offered up front before he comes to his conclusion. There’s nothing keeping him from going, and he’s always wanted to travel more.  “Yeah, alright, Tony. When do I leave?”

\--

_May_

When Tony had asked Steve if he wanted to go to London, Steve figured they must be getting ready to open the London Office soon, but it turned out they had only just nailed down all the details of the building and tax things. Tony liked to have everything in place before he brought employees in so that there were fewer hiccups when the work actually started. Steve was forever grateful that he worked for a man who lived by the thought that if his employees loved to work for him, they would do their best work for him.

When it is finally time for Steve to head over, it’s already May, and he’s anxious to get going. He takes a red eye in the hopes of forcing his body to get over the jet-lag as fast as possible and touches down around mid-morning at London Gatwick. Walking into the Baggage claim area, he keeps his eyes peeled, scanning the room until...there!

Waiting for him with a brilliant smile on her face is Peggy Carter.

While he had interacted with Peggy from time to time over the years, she was based out of their West Coast office, but they had an excellent working relationship, even if it was mostly email and phone call based. Tony had told Steve a couple of weeks ago that Peggy had accepted the position as head of the London Office, and that she and Steve would be working together to get the rest of the new team up to speed.

“Steve!” Peggy says, waving at him. He crosses the space and leaned in to press a kiss to her cheek, and she does the same. “It’s good to see you! I’m glad you agreed to come over.” Steve steps back and smiles at Peggy in return.

“Me, too, Peggy. Me, too.”

\--

_July_

Steve’s first month in London is spent almost entirely in the office, trying to get the Design and Marketing department used to the way Stark Industries does things. Most of them aren’t used to working so closely with the Research and Development department.

Steve’s second month is spent exploring the city. Peggy had grown up in London, it turned out, and as such appointed herself Steve’s official guide to the city, and she took her job very seriously. They started with the big, must-see tourist sites because Steve had insisted (“Peggy! I _am_ a tourist!”) and over the course of their outings together, Steve felt something change in their relationship. He hoped that Peggy felt it, too, and if he had to go by the number of times he’d caught her looking when he went to stare longingly at her, the feeling was mutual.

Today is the last Saturday of August, and Peggy refused to go to another museum.

“Steve,” she said when she’d called him that morning, “Look at the sunshine! I’m vetoing the Tate today. We’re taking advantage of this beautiful day.”

So there they were, by picnicking in Hampstead Heath near where Peggy had grown up. They brought fruit and cheese and sandwiches, a few bottles of cider and a thick blanket and were currently laid back in the sun, basking in its warmth like cats in window sills.

“You were right,” Steve says, at last, his mind and body relaxed and slow to move, slow to think. “This is a much better idea.”

“I have a way to make it better,” Peggy breathes, her voice much closer than Steve had expected. He opened his eyes and sees that Peggy had moved closer while Steve had dozed in the sunshine. She is laying next to him, hair shining in the sun, sunglasses as red as her lips on her face, sundress pulled tight against her from how she was lounging on the blanket.

“Oh yeah?” Steve asks, a smile starting at the corners of his mouth.

Peggy’s smile is wide and beautiful as she nodded, and leaned in to kiss him.

Steve smiles into their kiss, tasting the sharpness of the cider on her lips under the slightly waxy taste of her lipstick. He reaches up and under the heavy fall of her hair, weaving his fingers into the loose curls. After a few moments, their kiss grows deeper as they learned the shape and taste of each other, Steve let his hand trail up Peggy’s arm, fingertips teasing gently as the skimmed her skin, soft and smooth, up to the bows where her straps tied together. He slides his fingertips along the length of fabric, tracing the edges of it as it dipped down to the top edge of her dress, hand flattening in the middle of her shoulders to pull her closer.

Peggy was right. This was a much better idea.

 

\--

_September_

They are taking things slow.

Which is good, because they are both up to their eyeballs in paperwork at any given time of day, but Steve was starting to feel ready for more. More dates, more time together, more _everything_.

Lucky for him, it seemed like Peggy felt the same.

He’d picked her up from her apartment around eight, taking full advantage of Tony’s frankly ridiculous company cars and driving the Aston. When Peggy opens the door, she takes Steve’s breath away, wearing an emerald green dress that hugs her curves beautifully, the lace overlay on the bodice covering the creamy skin of her arms and chest right up to the top of her collarbones.

“Wow,” Steve breathes, eyes wide in his face. “You look absolutely stunning, Peggy. My God.”

Peggy smiles at him, red lips curling up sensuously as she lowers her lashes coyly. She was going to kill him if she kept that up. He’d been worried about his own outfit as he drove over, but knows now that he’d made a good choice because Peggy, normally reserved, looks him over with nothing short of hunger in her eyes. “You don’t look so bad yourself, Rogers.”

Steve stands up a little straighter. With Peggy looking so wonderful it wouldn’t do to look anything less than his best, and he had kept that in mind as he dressed for the evening. A dark teal three-piece suit against a white shirt and blue tie tied them together without looking too matchy-matchy, and the brown leather of his shoes and belt kept it from being too austere.

Steve leans in for a kiss, one hand on her elbow, keeping things chaste. If he doesn’t they’ll never make it out the door. “Grab your coat, honey. I wanna get you to dinner. You deserve to be shown off.”

Peggy laughs and lets him get away with his remark, which Steve appreciates because his mouth had acted without his approval. Peggy snags a coat off the hook by the door, and Steve steps up to help her into it, and that's when he catches sight of something that is sure to keep him distracted for the rest of the night.

While the lace in the front covers Peggy from elbows to throat, in the back it dips into a ‘V’, right to the top edge of the dress where it hits below her shoulders. The way the floral pattern of the lace lays over her skin makes his mouth water, and he knows he is going to spend the evening tracing the place where lace turned into skin, the exposed column of her spine, would be unable to keep his fingers from brushing up to the back of her neck. That little patch of skin is tantalizing, entrancing, and the sexiest thing he’s ever seen.

He leans in and places a kiss right at the top of Peggy’s spine, letting his lips linger for a moment as he feels Peggy shiver slightly. He finishes settling the coat for her and stepped back before he is tempted to go farther. He can wait. He wants to take her out and treat her like a Queen before he takes her home and worships her like a Goddess.

\--

Dinner was wonderful, as it always was. Steve had gotten them reservations at Clos Maggiore, and the food and the company were both deserving of the highest praise.

Drinks at Ronnie Scott’s were another case.

The club itself is sensuous, all wine-red velvet banquettes, gold art deco detailing and low lights. Add in Peggy, who was all slow, heavy gazes, subtle flirtation, and that tempting skin, and Steve is a goner. His prediction from earlier was coming true: as soon as he has Peggy next to him, he couldn’t stop his fingers from exploring that patch of bare skin, so smooth, so soft. He slides the heavy mass of her hair over her shoulder, baring that skin to his gaze, and stroked along it lightly, watching the goosebumps that erupted in his wake.

They sit through two acts, every moment inching closer to each other as if pulled by a magnetic force, until Steve finds himself with his lips pressed to the very edge of the lace, pressing whisper-soft kisses against the delineation of fabric and skin.

“Darling,” Peggy breathes, and Steve knows it’s time to go. Peggy sounds wonderful, breathy in a way Steve had never heard before but needed to hear more of immediately.

He drags his nose up the column of her throat, gently traced the shell of her ear with it as he brings his lips close. “Come home with me?” he asks, barely more than an exhalation.

“Yes,” Peggy answers, turning her head to catch his mouth in a kiss. It isn’t anything more than was acceptable in public, but only just. When she releases him, Steve immediately catches the eyes of their waiter and signaled for the check, who must have been able to sense that they were now in a hurry and brings it back with alacrity. Steve pays their tab and leaves a very generous tip for the abruptness of their departure before getting their coats from coat check and heading toward the car.

He does the drive on autopilot, making it to the underground garage of his building and parking in what feels like seconds since they left the club. He’s out and opening Peggy’s door in no time flat, helping her out of the car before shutting the door and backing her up against the side of it.

Kissing Peggy has been mindblowing since that first time months ago, but tonight feels even more special, knowing where things are headed.

He doesn’t let himself get distracted, not too much anyway, and pulls back sooner than his instincts would like, leading Peggy to the elevator. The stand close together on the ride up, but do manage to keep their hands to themselves, even if it’s suddenly the hardest thing he has ever done.

At last, they reach Steve’s apartment, and he has the presence of mind to hang up their coats properly before he can’t wait any longer. Peggy is reaching for him at the same time, and they collide in the entryway, patience snapping like frayed thread.

Their arms are around each other in no time flat, lips meeting and opening to each other, tongues tangling together. They spend a few moments working through the tension that has been building around them all night before they manage to slow down and separate, and Steve is glad for it. He doesn’t want their first time together to be some rushed, hasty thing. He wants the weight of this choice to be apparent, wants Peggy to know that this means something to him.

That he loves her.

He smiles at her and offers her his hand, squeezing gently when she takes it and walks them to his bedroom. The curtains are drawn but Steve hits a button to open them, leaving the sheers over the windows but pulling the heavy blackout curtains back. There’s enough light from the moon and the city around them to let him see, to show him the wonderful woman before him.

He steps in close and cups Peggy’s face in his hand, kissing gently, slowing down the frenetic pace his body wants to set. Her hands come to his waist, and he feels her clever fingers start to open the buttons on his jacket, her hands pushing it gently off his shoulders. He smiles into their kiss and steps back, folding the jacket in half and laying it over the chair in the corner. He starts on his waistcoat, cursing the amount of tiny buttons as he fumbles them, hands shaking. Peggy laughs quietly and comes closer.

“Here, let me help,” she says, and Steve realizes why he’s suddenly so nervous. His favorite part about them as a couple is their conversation. Yes, Peggy is beautiful and he is so attracted to her that some days he can hardly breathe when he sees her, but her mind is what gets him, always. He wants that communication, that conversation with her, even now, _especially_ now.

“Thanks, Peg,” he says, smiling shyly at her. They manage to get his waistcoat off and it joins the jacket on the chair before Steve toes off his shoes and his hands go for his belt as Peggy moves on to his shirt. Before long he’s standing in just his undershirt and boxer briefs, everything else either on the chair or in the hamper by the closet door.

Peggy turns around, putting her back to him. “Help me with my dress?” Peggy asks, a sparkle in her eye as she looks at him over her shoulder.

Steve swallows the saliva that suddenly floods his mouth before stepping forward. He places his hands on Peggy’s shoulders and then moves them down that line of lace that has been teasing him all evening. Peggy inhales audibly, and Steve takes that for encouragement. He grasps the zipper and slowly drags it down with one hand, the green satin of her dress parting and revealing more of that mouthwateringly creamy skin. When the zipper stopped he helped slide her sleeves from her arms and held her hand while she balanced to step out of her dress.

Seeing Peggy like this...his heart is going a million miles an hour in his chest.

She turns slowly to face him, her dress in one hand before she tosses it to join his suit. She is beautiful, skin almost glowing in the low light, and wearing yet more lace, setting his face aflame.

Her bra was strapless and the panties were cut in a v at the front, one he would bet money was mirrored on the back, both made of red silk and edged with lace that was scalloped at the top and pressed perfectly to the fullness of her breasts, the roundness of her hips and thighs, the pattern almost fan-like in the way it stretched over the curves of her.

“Peggy,” he breathes, letting his desire imbue her name with all the hunger and awe he was swimming in. She smiles, and he notices now that her lipstick matches her lingerie, and he feels like he could faint on the spot.

“Here,” he says finally, tearing his eyes away at last and gesturing to the bed. “Sit down, honey, I’ll help you with your shoes.”

Peggy looks surprised for a moment but sits down all the same, and Steve kneels down in front of her.

“Steve, what…” She starts but trails off as he picks up her right foot, cradling it gently in his palms and works the buckle open on the strap at her ankle. He makes a shushing sound at her as he slips the shoe from her foot, the black suede standing in stark contrast to the fairness of her. He smooths his fingers over the imprints left by the peep toe and the cutouts and the straps, rubbing gently with his thumbs as he tenderly kisses the inside of her ankle.

“Oh,” Peggy breathes out, a hand reaching out to smooth over his hair. “Oh, Steve, darling, you don’t have to.”

Steve lifts his eyes to her and smiles, before setting the right foot down and picking up her other foot. “I know, honey,” he says, “but I want to. Let me take care of you.”

Peggy bites her lip and after a moment's hesitation, nods.

Steve understands, he does. For them, letting someone else take care of you is tantamount to admitting defeat. Steve fought through every illness and every bully and every fight, spent his whole childhood and adolescence fight to be taken seriously, to be given a chance to be someone more than just the sick kid, poor Steve Rogers, whose dad left and who’s Ma was run ragged from all her jobs. But Steve had grown eventually and people stopped thinking him incompetent at first glance, but Peggy. Peggy had fought for the respect of everyone around her from the day she was born, the entire system of the world stacked against her. She had worked twice as hard to get half as far, and Steve had never in his life admired someone more. So he knew what it meant, this allowance of him doing even so little a thing as taking off her shoes.

The second shoe comes off as quickly as the first, but this time he kisses the top of each toe, the arch of her foot, her ankle, and he doesn’t stop, moving his way up her calf, the delicate tendon behind her knee the soft, smooth, supple skin of her thigh. He hears a gasp above him as he moves forward, settling himself between her legs where he kneels on the floor, his mouth getting closer and closer to the slip of satin that covers her as he worked his way to the apex of her thighs.

He glances up and the sight of Peggy made him groan out loud. Color stands out on the high points of her cheeks and her hair is starting to fall from its large, perfect curls as her body temperature rises and moisture pricks her skin. Her eyes are large and dark in her face as she stares at him. He holds her gaze as he moves just slightly, centering himself and seeing more than hearing her sharp inhale, right before he presses the flat of his tongue against the thin strip of silk that is all that covers her.

“Oh, _Steve_ ,” Peggy groans, laying back as Steve goes to work in earnest, moving his mouth and tongue over her covered sex. There is a damp patch there already, and he can just make out the taste of her as he laps at it. Steve moves his hands and hooks his fingers under the filmy lace and pulls, removing his mouth only long enough to slide the lacey lingerie down and off Peggy’s legs, tossing them aside.

He sits back on his heels to fully appreciate what he is about to see, but before he can he is smacked in the head with something soft that lands perfectly over his eyes.

He laughs as he pulls whatever it was from his face, which turns out to be Peggy’s bra. Peggy had beat him to getting it off of her and was now smiling like the cat that got the cream as she stretches her arms above her head, the round fullness of her breasts and every curve on her body becoming more pronounced as she does.

“See something you like?” She asks, propped up on her hands. Steve snaps his jaw closed and nods, hard.

Peggy bites her bottom lip, eyes hooded. “Why don’t you show me?”

Steve doesn’t need to be told twice.

He looks down again, to the pale expanse of Peggy’s thighs and the dark patch of close-cropped curls between them, mouth already watering.

He leans in, wasting no time and kissing his way down the softness of her belly, down over the short, wiry hairs until he reaches the top of her slit, where he lets his tongue dart out, a short lick right over her clit and _oh, God_ …

Steve grabs Peggy’s legs and pulls, dragging her right to the end of the bed and hooking her knees up and over his shoulders, burying his face in the damp heat he’s been dreaming about.

Steve starts doing his best to explore and learn what Peggy likes and what she doesn’t but knows it's their first time, and he plans on having many, _many_ opportunities to learn just what ticks all of her boxes

He takes his time, licking around her entrance but not dipping inside, sucking gently on her clit before tracing his tongue in lazy circles around it. He laps at the wetness leaking from her, scrapes his teeth along her lips as he licks between the folds, and when he finally slips a finger inside her, he earns a sharp cry from Peggy, who has until now just been breathing harshly with the occasional moan thrown in.

“Fuck, honey, so wet for me, huh?” He murmurs, working his finger in and out slowly, curling it just a little as he pulls it out, dragging against that patch of spongy tissue that’s making Peggy twitch every time he does. “You feel so good, Peggy, taste like a fucking dream. I could do this all day,” he declares, punctuating his words with broad strokes of his tongue just over her clit.

“There, Steve, oh, _just there!_ ”

Steve does as he’s told and keeps going, slips another finger inside while he keeps the flat of his tongue firmly against that wonderful bundle of nerves, rhythmically pressing in time with the thrusts of his fingers.

Peggy begins to moan in earnest, voice rising in pitch as her walls begin to clench around him. He doubles his efforts, picks up his pace just a hair and just like that Peggy is crying out his name as she clenches around his fingers, her walls fluttering and wetness coating his hand as she comes.

Steve grins and works her through it gently before pulling his fingers out slowly and crawling up onto the bed as he presses them inside his mouth, Peggy’s eyes open wide and staring at him as her breathing slows.

He licks every drop of her from his fingers before laying down beside her, taking in the flush on her chest and the sweat at her temples, eyes wide and dark in her face and adds it to his favorite sights in the world. She smiles at him, satisfaction radiating from every pore, and Steve mentally pats himself on the back for a job well done.

“Come here,” Peggy says, and kisses him breathless, pulling him in so close that the insistent erection he’s had since he slid the zipper down her dress pokes into her hip. She laughs and breaks away, looking down with a wicked smirk on her kiss-bitten lips. “Well, hello there,” she says, and Steve gasps as one of her slim hands wraps around his cock. “Oh, yes, you look like quite a lot of fun,” she whispers, hand sliding up and down Steve’s length, and he would laugh at her speaking to his dick if he wasn’t so turned on by the feel of her hand on him.

Peggy’s eyes flick up and meet his, no doubt seeing the blush staining his skin, the way he is panting, every sign of just how good it feels. “Steve,” she breathes, “I need you.”

Steve groans and leans in again, kissing her as he slides his hands under her, picking her up and moving them so he can lay her back against the pillows before trailing his lips down her throat and over her chest, nuzzling into her breasts. He licks and nips and sucks little red spots into the thin skin before being stopped by insistent tugging on his hair, looking up to see Peggy panting again, staring at him with heat in her eyes.

“Darling,” she says, and he knows, he _knows_ , so he leans over and digs through his nightstand, coming back with a little foil packet. He sits up on his knees, but before he can do anything, Peggy takes the condom from him and tears open the foil, eyes locked on his as she rolls it down the hard length of him, something so unexpectedly intimate Steve’s breath catches in his throat.

When she’s finished he leans forward, bracing himself on one arm as he uses the other to cup Peggy’s face, kissing her deep and slow before he takes his hand back and lines himself up.

The first push in has them both gasping, the two of them fitting together like they were made for each other, and Steve feels emotions he wasn’t expecting swelling in his chest. Peggy wraps her legs around his hips, and he takes it for his signal to move, so he does.

He takes it slow, each thrust in and out deep and unhurried, and drops to his elbows to be closer to her. Once there he can’t help but kiss her, and their mouths move together with the same ease as their hips, him pushing forward and hers canting up to meet him as they make their way slowly to the edge.

They make love like that for what feels like hours, Steve feeling like any moment his chest might burst with joy, but eventually he feels the inevitable tightening in his spine and slips a hand between them, rubbing lightly at Peggy’s clit. Her breath hitches and Steve, at last, speeds up his hips, still slow, but faster than he had been driving them both towards their climaxes.

Peggy reaches the peak first, her body arching underneath him as she digs her fingers into his back, and the sight of her, the feel of her clenching rhythmically around him sends him over the edge, hips stuttering as he buries his face in Peggy’s shoulder and whispers her name, over and over and over again.

\--

The next morning they wake tangled together. They’d fallen asleep after hurried ablutions, Steve grabbing an extra toothbrush and one of the good washcloths from his bathroom cabinets, and bringing her his jojoba oil to take her makeup off. She’d given him a sly look and he’d blushed, but she’d kissed him on the cheek and said, “Well that explains  this perfect skin of yours, at least.”

Peggy rolls Steve onto his back when they both wake, and they make love in the early morning light, Steve’s hands roaming as Peggy moves atop him, the sunlight limning her in gold, and Steve has never been more in love with a person in his life.

 

\--

_November_

“Steve!”

Steve looks up and sees Tony Stark walking down the hallway towards him and glances at the clock, startled to see how late it has gotten.

“Hey, Tony,” Steve says, standing to give his boss a hug. “How was your flight?”

Tony returns the hug heartily, answering the question as he steps back. “Flight was, you know, a flight. Though better than every other flight cause I own the plane, and an airport and all that jazz. Much smoother process when you take the general public out of the equation.”

Steve laughs and tidies up his desk hurriedly. “Well I’m sure things have changed since you were here last, so let me give you the tour, huh?”

The rest of the afternoon passes quickly as Steve walks all over the building with Tony, introducing him to all the employees they’ve hired so far and showing him the progress with the building overall. They’re on track to open right after the new year, and Steve is very proud of everything they’ve accomplished.

Tony claps Steve on the back in congratulations and invites him out to dinner, which Steve agrees to readily. A few hours later, they’re at Noble Rot in Bloomsbury, and how Tony got a reservation here on such short notice Steve will never know. They’ve just finished their appetizers when Tony leans back in his seat, looking at Steve seriously.

“So,” he starts and then pauses.

Steve, little shit that he is, automatically responds, “Buttons.”

Tony splutters for a moment and points an accusatory finger at Steve. “Did you just?” When Steve just grins and takes a large sip of his Tony shakes his head, smiling all the same. “See, this is why I miss you. No one fucks with me like you do.”

“Well, it helps that I’ve known you forever, and you couldn’t intimidate me if you tried.”

Tony snorts and takes a sip of his wine, still relaxing in his chair. “True. Anyway, that's why I’m here. I’d like to get the London Design and Marketing department head hired while I’m here so we can pick them together.”

Steve’s heart has stopped in his chest, but Tony doesn’t seem to realize that Steve is having a crisis moment and just keeps right on talking. “I figure we’re still going to be working closely with this office for a few years, even more closely than normal, really, like we did with the West Coast office when we set it up. So it’ll be good for you to know and get along with your counterpart over- Steve? Steve, are you alright?”

Steve is most assuredly not alright because in the last several months he had _completely forgotten_ that this was a temporary move. He had settled in so seamlessly, between the apartment he loved and his favorite cafes, to the markets he shopped at on the weekends and the museums he loved and Peggy, _God_ , Peggy! He loves her, is so sure of it even though it had only been four months of them actually exploring this new relationship, but he _loves_ her. He loves waking up with her and cooking dinner with her. He loves watching her work every day, so smart and sure of herself. He loves the way she spends her mornings in her pajamas with a cup of coffee on the balcony and a novel, how Sundays are reserved for catching up on movies and tv and sleep, how she collects vintage teacups and how she curses like a sailor when a plan falls apart.

He wants to spend every waking moment with her and he _doesn’t want to leave_.

Now he just has to tell Tony.

Tony takes it better than Steve expected.

Especially because Steve agreed that if he stayed, he would take the promotion Tony had been pushing at him for years.

“Steve, you deserve it!” Tony insists, toasting to his new position and his new love. “You have been dedicated to this company since I asked you to work for me right out of college. You helped me weed out the bad eggs left over from Stane running things, and you are one of the best people I have ever met. You _deserve this_.”

Steve also asks that, if Wade is willing, he and his husband Peter be given the option of relocating to London as well. Tony swears, telling Steve he’d immediately thought about snatching Wade up for himself as soon as Steve said he wanted to stay in London.

They still set dates to interview people for the Design and Marketing Department head position, since Steve would no longer be occupying it. Once they find someone, they will announce that Steve would be Chief of Marketing for Stark Industries, London.

And Steve knows just how he’d tell Peggy.

 

\--

_December_

The opening had been pushed back to mid-January since it was the week before Christmas and they’d only just found someone to head Design and Marketing. His name is Sam Wilson and he is an American, which Steve hadn’t expected, but he is glad of all the same.

He tells Peggy when they hire Sam, and while they hadn’t outright discussed it, he knows she saw it as a sign that Steve was going to go back to New York sooner rather than later. He wants to tell her that he is staying, but he also has a _plan_ and Peggy deserves a grand romantic gesture, damnit.

So now it’s Christmas Eve and Steve and Peggy are walking through the streets, looking at the beautiful lights strung up over the streets. Peggy looks breathtaking, as usual, curls peeking out from under a knitted cap perched artfully on her head, a thick scarf wrapped around her neck and tucked under her coat, and warm fleece lined leather gloves on her hands. Steve is dressed similarly, his own new-purchased leather gloves keeping his hands warm, He’d almost forgone a hat but Peggy had given him a Look and he’d wisely grabbed it on their way out the door.

The streets look like something out of a fairytale, the lights above shining off the fresh snow from earlier in the day and greenery over every door. New York does Christmas beautifully, but there is something about the charm of London that cements Steve in his choice to make London his new home.

They stop for a bite to eat in a pub, sharing smiles and small touches as they work their way through meat pies and a pint or two, before heading back to Peggy’s flat. They’d bought a small Christmas tree, hung lights around the living room and from the balcony, and draped garlands over all the doorframes, and Steve loves it dearly. After divesting themselves of their snow-dusted outerwear Peggy starts some spiced cider warming on the stove while Steve lights candles and puts on some Christmas music, the volume at the perfect level to hear without overwhelming conversations.

When the cider is warmed through Peggy pours some for them both and joins Steve where he’s sat in front of the fireplace, which is the absolute best part of Peggy’s apartment. They lounge for a moment on the thick cushions Peggy has for just this purpose before Steve leans forward and drops a kiss on the top of Peggy’s head. “I have something for you,” he whispers, reaching into his pocket with one hand.

“Mmm?” The noise is interrogative and a little sleepy, the heat of the fire and the warmth of the cider having started to work their soporific magic. “Tonight? I thought we weren’t doing gifts until tomorrow.”

“This is a small thing, honey, just a little something, promise.”

Peggy squirms her way into a sitting position and sets her mug aside, facing him with curiosity on her face. Steve takes a moment to take her in, her disheveled curls from spending the afternoon under her hat, the pretty wine-colored jumper her mother had knitted her last year. Her lips are bare, just a layer of lip balm on them in deference to the dryness of the weather lately. She is lovely, and Steve knows he is making the right choice.

Steve smiles gently at her, letting his love for her fill him up, knowing it must be shining through his face. He hands her the small, rectangular package wrapped in gold foil wrapping paper, tied with a red velvet ribbon.

Peggy's brows furrowed slightly, even as her smile never left her lips. “My goodness, a small thing is right. What on earth…” She trails off as she gets the paper off, and sees the small piece of cardstock on top of the box.

_I Love You_

The sentiment is written in a deep blue ink, done in Steve’s best calligraphy, which was really quite good if he said so himself.

Peggy looks up at him, eyes huge and mouth open, and Steve felt his heart in his throat. “I love you, Peggy Carter,” he says, and he has never meant anything more.

“Oh, Steve,” Peggy says, surging forward to kiss him, pressing her lips all over his face. “I love you, my darling, oh, I love you!”

They laugh joyfully together, and Steve wraps his arms around her and holds her tight before he pulls away, grabbing the box she had dropped and pushing it back into her hands.

“Here, turn it over, there’s one more surprise.”

Peggy laughs, wiping tears from her eyes (Steve doing the same) and pulls the card from the top of the box, reading the back.

_Steve Rogers_

_Chief of Marketing_

_Stark Industries, London_

Peggy looks up at him again, surprise and joy on her face. “Truly?” She asks, hope threading its way through her voice. “You’re staying?”

“I’m staying,” he confirms, gathering her close again. “I love you, Peggy, and I really think we can make a go of it. I want to stay and give us a chance. I want to see you every day. To share meals with you, and wake up with you and argue over the best way to serve cookies and what time of day is appropriate for tea. I love you more than you will ever know, Peg. But I’ll spend every day trying to show you.” He feels the tears running down his cheeks one at a time, and sees Peggy’s doing the same. “Are you happy?”

“Oh, my love,” she says, pressing close and holding his face in her hands. “So happy.”

He smiles and seals their declaration with a kiss. “Merry Christmas, Peggy.”

“Happy Christmas, Steve.”

They fall asleep tangled together in front of the fire, at the very start of their new life.

Together.

**Author's Note:**

> I’m now on [Twitter!](https://twitter.com/KatAtomic2/) Things are weird and wonderful over on Fandom Twitter so come hang out!
> 
> Come hang out with me on [Tumblr!](https://kat-atomic.tumblr.com/)  
> For those who are curious, this is Peggy's Very Distracting Dress:
> 
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> [](https://www.flickr.com/photos/160931217@N08/46461199851/in/dateposted-public/)  
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> [](https://www.flickr.com/photos/160931217@N08/31521337637/in/dateposted-public/)  
> 


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